The Force
The Force is a mystical energy field that surrounds and binds all living in the galaxy. More than just a source of power for those sensitive to its presence, the Force can affect the fates of even ordinary citizens who have no aptitude for its use. In the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, ''there are two ways a player may call upon the Force for assistance. The first way, usable by all characters, comes in the form of Force Points. The second way, usable only by characters with the Force Sensitivity feat, is through the Use the Force skill and associated Force Powers. Force Points Force Points represent a character's knack for for using the force to aid their actions. A character need not be Force-Sensitive to use Force Points; they represent the presence of the Force in all forms of life, and though some call it luck, others believe that it is the will of the Force that that grants a person aid. For a Force-Sensitive character, it represents a conscious decision to call upon the Force for assistance. Characters without the Force Sensitivity feat don't realize that the Force is aiding their actions, only that they are trying hard to succeed. Gaining Force Points You get 5 Force Points at 1st level. When you gain a new level, you lose any unspent Force Points from the previous level but gain a number of Force Points equal to 5 + one-half of your new character level (rounded down). Some Prestige Classes grant a higher number of Force Points at each level. Using Force Points On your turn, you may spend a Force Point as a free action to roll a 1d6 and add the result to a single attack roll, skill check, or ability check. You can do this once per round. At 8th level, when you spend a Force Point, you instead roll 2d6 and take the best die result as your bonus; at 15th level, you roll 3d6 and take the best die result as your bonus. This is summarized below: ''*Only count the highest die result Some Talents, Force Techniques, Force Secrets, and Force Powers require you to spend 1 Force Point to activate. In addition, if you are a Force-User, you may spend 1 Force Point as a swift action to return a single spent Force Power to your active suite of Force Powers. If you are reduced to 0 HP and would be killed, you can spend a Force Point as a reaction to avoid death and instead fall unconscious. Finally, you can spend 1 Force Point as a swift action to lower your Dark Side Score by 1. Unless noted otherwise, you can spend only one Force Point per round. The Dark Side The Force has two aspects, one light and one dark. The Dark Side lurks in the shadows, whispering to Force-users, tempting them with quick and easy access to power. While seemingly stronger, the Dark Side is only easier. It consists of the destructive impulses of all living beings. Anger, fear, hatred, and aggression are expressions of the Dark Side, and such emotions can quickly lead a Force-user down the Dark Side's corrupting path. Early on in their training, a Force-user finds that the Dark Side greatly enhances their abilities. After a time, the Dark Side demands more and more of those in it's embrace. Dark Side Score Your Dark Side Score measures the extent to which you've been corrupted by the Dark Side of The Force. A 1st-level character begins play with a Dark Side Score of 0. The only way to increase one's Dark Side Score is to commit evil acts. A character who commits an evil act increases their Dark Side Score by 1. What constitutes an evil act is discussed under the Dark Side Transgressions, below. Regardless of how many evil acts a character commits, the maximum Dark Side Score a character can possess is equal to their Wisdom score. Thus, a character with a Wisdom score of 15 can have a maximum Dark Side Score of 15. A character whose Dark Side Score equals their Wisdom score has fully embraced the Dark Side and is wholly evil. A hero who falls to the Dark Side becomes a GM character (Unless the GM wants to allow the player to continue playing the Dark Side character as a sort of campaign anti-hero). Dark Side Transgressions The GM should use the considerations detailed below as guidelines foe whether or not to increase a character's Dark Side Score. The guidelines are separated by degree: Major transgressions are acts that definitely deserve an increase, moderate transgressions are acts that probably deserve an increase, and minor transgressions are acts that could be considered dark but probably don't deserve an increase. Major Transgressions Force Powers Force Powers are special abilities available to anyone who takes the Force Training Feat. They allow characters to do astonishing things such as play tricks with the minds of others, move heavy objects, see into the future, and even blast foes with terrible arcs of lightning. Learning Force Powers A character who takes the Force Training feat automatically learns a number of Force Powers equal to 1 + their Wisdom modifier (Minimum of 1). A character can learn additional Force Powers by taking the Force Training feat again or by increasing their Wisdom modifier. Using Force Powers When your character uses a Force Power, make a Use the Force check. The check result determines the Power's effect. Some Force Powers have all-or-nothing effects. Other Force Powers have multi-tiered effects, and your Use the Force check result determines the maximum effect you can achieve, although you can always choose a lesser effect. If your Use the Force check is too low to activate the Force Power's baseline effect, nothing happens and the action is wasted. Your Force Power Suite Your character's Force Powers collectively form a suite. When your character uses a Force Power, it's like playing a card and putting it in the discard pile. The Power takes effect, and it's no longer available to the character... at least for a while. Regaining Force Powers You have different ways to regain spent Force Powers so that you can use them again: -When combat is over and you have a chance to rest for 1 minute, you regain all of your Force Powers. -If you roll a natural 20 on a Use the Force check, you regain all spent Force Powers at the end of your turn. -You can spend a Force Point as a reaction and immediately regain one spent Force Power. -Some unique abilities (Such as the Force Focus Talent) allow you to regain spent Force Powers in other ways. Force Power Descriptors Some Force Powers are more strongly tied to one side of the Force than the other. These Force Powers carry either the [Light Side] descriptor or the [Dark Side] descriptor. Powers that target creatures' minds carry the [Mind-Affecting] descriptor. Dark Side Using a Force Power with the [Dark Side] descriptor increases your Dark Side Score by 1. You cannot use a Force Point to modify your Use the Force check when activating a Force Power with the [Dark Side] descriptor. Dark Side Powers stem from powerful negative emotions, and include Dark Rage and Force Lightning. Light Side If you have a Dark Side Score of 1 or higher, you cannot use a Force Point to modify your Use the Force check when activating a Force Power with the [Light Side] descriptor. Light Side Powers are generally beneficial and include Sever Force and Vital Transfer. Mind-Affecting A Force Power with the [Mind-Affecting] descriptor has no effect on creatures that are mindless (That is, creatures with no Intelligence Score) or creatures that are immune to Mind-Affecting effects. Force Powers The following Force Powers are available to any character who takes the Force Training feat. Force Talents Force Talents work exactly like the Talents presented in Classes; however, they are available only to characters with the Force Sensitivity feat. Any time a character with the Force Sensitivity feat would normally gain a Talent (Such as gaining an odd-numbered level in a Heroic Class), he or she may instead select a Force Talent from one of the below Talent Trees. If a character with the Force Sensitivity feat is a member of a Force Tradition, he or she may instead select a Force Talent from that tradition's individual Force Talent Tree. The Force Talent Trees available to all characters with the Force Sensitivity feat are: Force Techniques Force Techniques represent a deeper understanding of the Force and, like material skills, usually come with years of practice. A few gifted or devoted Force-users learn to master them more quickly. In general, Force Techniques are only available to characters with levels in certain Force-using Prestige Classes (Such as Force Adept, Jedi Knight, and Sith Apprentice). Whenever you gain access to a new Force Technique, select it from the following list. Once selected, a Force Technique cannot be changed. Force Secrets Skilled Force-users can learn to manipulate their Force Powers in intriguing ways. Force Secrets represent a sublime connection of the Force and are usually available only to powerful Force-users such as Force Disciples, Jedi Masters, and Sith Lords. Activating a Force Secret cost either a Force Point or a Destiny Point (As noted in it's description), and the normal limits on spending Force Points and Destiny Points during a round apply. Whenever you learn a new Force Secret, select it from the following list. Once selected, a Force Secret cannot be changed. Force-Using Traditions Even those who don't believe in the Force and aren't particularly attuned to it's flow can call upon the Force without understanding exactly what they are doing. When a stroke of luck occurs, or fate seems to be on your side and helps you accomplish a difficult objective, it could be the Force coming to your aid. In game terms, the expenditure of Force Points by non-Force-using characters represents this unconscious, tenuous connection to the Force that all living things share. When a Force-using character calls on the Force this way, he or she knows exactly what's happening. The most prominent and well-known Force-users in the galaxy are the Jedi. However, the Jedi are not the only ones who have learned to manipulate the Force. Other Force-users sometimes attribute their abilities to sources other than the Force, such as magic or gods, but they are all using the energy to manipulate the world around them. In game terms, anyone with the Force Sensitivity feat has the ability to master the Use the Force skill and learn Force Powers, though many of these beings will never go down this particular path. Other Force-using Traditions include Dark Side cults (Such as the Sith), and obscure, isolated sects such as the Witches of Dathomir and the Sorcerers of Tund. Some know the Force for what it is but approach it's use in a different way from the Jedi. Others know the Force by a different name. Either way, it remains the mystic energy that binds the galaxy together and gives Force-users their powers. 'Membership: '''The conditions for being considered a member of a given Force Tradition are outlined in the description. A character may be a member of more than one Force Tradition, but this is uncommon. The Jedi ''There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force. ''-From the Jedi Code'' For centuries, the group of philosophers that would eventually become the Jedi contemplated the mysteries of the energy field known as the Force. Eventually, some of the group's members mastered the Force. After that, they dedicated themselves to using their newfound skills and powers for good, helping those in need. In the thousands of years that followed, the Jedi served as protectors of the Galactic Republic. Answering to their own Jedi council and operating in concordance with the Judicial Department of the office of the Supreme Chancellor, the Jedi became the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. The Jedi, in addition to battling interstellar criminals and settling galactic disputes, served as mediators, defenders, and teachers. Because of their sense of honor and the epic challenges they undertook, the Jedi became legends, serving as symbols of the best the Republic has to offer. With lightsabers at their side and the power of the Force flowing through them, the Jedi accomplished the tasks set before them with dedication and seeming invisibility. But that invincibility was only an illusion. Jedi often died in the defense of freedom and justice. During the rise of the Empire era (Episodes I-III), ten thousand Jedi served the Republic and defended it's vast territory. They identified potential recruits early in life, usually within the first six months of a child's existence. As infants, those attuned to the Force and accepted by the Jedi Council were taken to begin their training. Older children, if identified later in life as being Force-sensitive, were refused training in most cases; the Jedi believed that the fear and anger in older children made them too susceptible to the Dark Side, ans so it was unwise to train them. All characters playing in this era that are Jedi Padawan Learners (Jedi class level 1st through 6th) have a master (Jedi class level 7th or higher). While there may be times when the master and the padawan travel together, most of their interactions happen between adventurers, while all characters are training and improving. The master is a GM character, offering training, advice, and aid when the GM feels such aid is appropriate and necessary. Unfortunately, by the end of this time period, Anakin Skywalker has turned to the Dark Side and the Empire has slaughtered nearly all Jedi. During the Rebellion era, the Jedi purge has been completed. All but a handful of Force-users, let alone fully trained Jedi, were exterminated or corrupted to the Dark Side and placed in the service of the Emperor. Force-sensitive individuals, such as Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, were hidden from the Empire and cut off from their heritage. More powerful Force-users, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, purposely disappeared and worked to stay unnoticed. Jedi characters in this era eventually attract a teacher, though the training these Force-users provide is haphazard at best. A would-be Jedi learns by experience, though occasional meetings with other Force-users, and even by studying with beings who follow other Force Traditions. It's not easy, witch is why Jedi in this period are few and far between, and few reach the level of power exhibited in earlier or later periods. A Gamemaster wishing to simulate this experience might require the potential character to have at least one non-Force-using class level before allowing them to take levels in the Jedi class. In the New Jedi Order era, Luke Skywalker has trained about one hundred Jedi and identified perhaps a dozen others in need of training. Prominent Force-users such as Mara Jade Skywalker and Corran Horn help Skywalker train and coordinate the efforts of these Jedi, while promising students such as the Solo children and Ganner Rhysode show great promise for the future. Jedi characters again receive a higher-level mentor who provides training and advice between adventures or when the Gamemaster deems such interaction to be warranted and important to a mission. 'Membership: '''Any character with the Force Sensitivity feat can become a member of the Jedi Tradition by being accepted as an apprentice by a Jedi Knight or Jedi Master. The Sith ''Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. ''-From the Sith Code'' An ancient order of Force-users devoted to the Dark Side and determined to destroy the Jedi, the Sith have existed in many forms throughout the history of the galaxy. The original Sith were a near-human population on Korriban, subjected and ruled by outcast Dark Jedi several thousand years before the Battle of Yavin. The name "Sith" eventually came to refer to the Dark Side cult that ruled the Sith people (That is, the "Lords of the Sith"). When the Old Republic discovered the Sith Empire thousands of years later, it lead to the Great Hyperspace War, the first of a long series of conflicts that ravaged the galaxy over the next few millennia. Eventually, the Sith Empire (Now known as the "Old Sith") was destroyed, and all it left behind were ancient holocrons and the ruined tombs and temples on Korriban, Yavin IV, and a handful of other planets throughout the galaxy.